HYDERABAD: The high-profile committee formed by Sindh government to investigate issuance of fake domiciles to non-natives has found serious anomalies and procedural lapses in the process of preparation and release of the documents and dismissed ‘provincialism’ or ‘ethnicity’ as motives behind the illegal practice.

The committee members learnt that besides procedural flaws, mischief was at play in the issuance of fake and duplicate domiciles to people from other provinces and other districts within Sindh, which allowed them to enjoy different benefits, said sources.

The committee would submit its ‘indicative’ preliminary report to Sindh government soon though the members believed the scope of inquiry should have been widened to cover the entire province. The committee had visited Larkana, Kashmore, Ghotki and Jamshoro for the purpose.

The committee was supposed to cover the entire province within seven days but it was not humanly possible and, therefore, after Tuesday being its seventh day it would submit a preliminary report within 10 to 12 days, said the sources.

Jamshoro was the last district the inquiry team headed by senior member Board of Revenue (SMBR) Qazi Shahid Pervez visited on Monday. “The inquiry team is now in the process of finalising the preliminary findings to be submitted to the chief minister because a pattern has been noted,” said an official working with the inquiry team.

The inquiry team found 41 domiciles to be doubtful or fake in Larkana, 26 in Kashmore, 29 in Ghotki and 30 to 40 in Jamshoro. “These domiciles indicate serious anomalies and procedural lapses on the part of officers who exercise such authority,” he said.

The scope of the inquiry would have to be widened to reach concrete conclusion, said an official, adding however, it was clear that ‘provincialism’ or ‘ethnicity’ were not found to be motives behind the practice but instances were seen in which people with Sindh domicile had obtained multiple domiciles for other districts in order to get some benefits like jobs or admission to educational institutions.

“It is apparently a case of mischief,” he added. For example, someone desiring to secure a job as primary schoolteacher would obtain a domicile from other districts on the basis of union council concerned regardless of the fact the applicant was resident of that UC or district, he said.

“Therefore from one point of view it is something beyond provincialism but it is clearly a case of misuse of authority,” he said.

Another official cited some cases in Ghotki where women who were residents of districts bordering Punjab settled in Sindh after marriage and obtained domiciles as their legitimate right. “The inquiry team has verified domiciles whose authenticity looked doubtful due to differences in NIC number as the first digit of initial five numbers of NIC denotes the province. For instance 4 stands for Sindh in NIC and 3 for Punjab,” added another official.

“On the spot verifications were also done and there are reports that two deputy commissioners have issued domiciles to their kith and kin in two different districts,” he said. In one case, pointed out the official, a student who was resident of Rahim Yar Khan obtained domicile in Jamshoro when she was studying in a Jamshoro university four years back. “It is learnt her father got her Rahim Yar Khan domicile cancelled on May 30,” he said.

After 250 cases, around 125 to 150 could be examined and of them 30 to 40 looked doubtful, according to one claim. In Larkana, 17,000 domiciles were issued over the past two and a half years and of them 262 cases of domiciles pertained to districts other than Sindh’s and their verification revealed 41 doubtful cases.

“I think this report or inquiry may lead to certain changes in law or enactment of a new law,” one official observed. Under normal conditions the deputy commissioner issues domicile to general public but given his preoccupation with other administrative works an additional DC exercises this authority on his behalf.

The preliminary inquiry has revealed loopholes in the law and entire administrative process of domicile’s issuance. The team scrutinized records of domiciles issued over a certain period in the four districts, met notables and then referred quite a few cases for ‘on spot verification’ through deputy commissioner concerned, said the sources.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2020